Novi Rd. overpass

[pica]

Does it seem weird to anyone else that they spent all the time and money to rebuild Novi Rd. over the CSX tracks in Novi. I mean seriously, how many trains do those tracks see a day.....3 maybe 4. And it's not like the trains were stopping blocking the road. Just seems like a waste of money to me.

[J T]

It's for the future when there are 30 freights and 4 passenger trains a day on that line.

[pica]

It's for the future when there are 30 freights and 4 passenger trains a day on that line.

That would be better then Durand and I wouldn't have to drive as far.

[Big Frank]

It's for the future when there are 30 freights and 4 passenger trains a day on that line.

Wow the crack in GR must be really good these days lol

[GTW6401]

Suburbanites really don't care how many trains go through there - all they know is they don't to wait for a long train at the middle of rush hour.

[J T]

It's for the future when there are 30 freights and 4 passenger trains a day on that line.

Wow the crack in GR must be really good these days lol

No, the fishing in GR is really good these days.

[AARR]

Does it seem weird to anyone else that they spent all the time and money to rebuild Novi Rd. over the CSX tracks in Novi. I mean seriously, how many trains do those tracks see a day.....3 maybe 4. And it's not like the trains were stopping blocking the road. Just seems like a waste of money to me.

Not as useless as the bridge they built over an abnadoned ROW east of St. Johns when they rerouted M27.

When they were planning the bridge CMGN was operating the line. By the time they finally got around to building the brdige CMGN had abandoned the line (but the track may have been in place) so they went ahead with the expense of building the bridge even though there were no trains running.

They may have been thinking that the bridge could be used as an overpass to a densely populated bike path where thousands of pedestrians, bikers, and joggers would use to access St. Johns and keep its economy humming along and expanding like no industry could.

[CSX_CO]

Not as useless as the bridge they built over an abnadoned ROW east of St. Johns when they rerouted M27.

When they were planning the bridge CMGN was operating the line. By the time they finally got around to building the brdige CMGN had abandoned the line (but the track may have been in place) so they went ahead with the expense of building the bridge even though there were no trains running.

They may have been thinking that the bridge could be used as an overpass to a densely populated bike path where thousands of pedestrians, bikers, and joggers would use to access St. Johns and keep its economy humming along and expanding like no industry could.

I think until the RR is officially abandoned and property rights sorted out, they have to retain the overpass. I-69 had overpasses over the NYC Jackson Branch and PRR Eel River branches just outside of Auburn until the early 2000's. I want to say that the NYC between Auburn and Waterloo had been gone since the 50's or early 60's, so those lines had been gone for decades. Wasn't until they repaved/rebuilt that stretch in 2000/2001 did they remove the overpasses and smooth out the approaches.

Practice Safe CSX

[conrailmike]

The reason for the overpass in Novi was because of the traffic during rush hour which is twice as bad when you get something through there like a coal train. Ever been on that stretch during rush hour?

[Raildudes dad]

Not as useless as the bridge they built over an abnadoned ROW east of St. Johns when they rerouted M27.

When they were planning the bridge CMGN was operating the line. By the time they finally got around to building the brdige CMGN had abandoned the line (but the track may have been in place) so they went ahead with the expense of building the bridge even though there were no trains running.

They may have been thinking that the bridge could be used as an overpass to a densely populated bike path where thousands of pedestrians, bikers, and joggers would use to access St. Johns and keep its economy humming along and expanding like no industry could.

I think until the RR is officially abandoned and property rights sorted out, they have to retain the overpass. I-69 had overpasses over the NYC Jackson Branch and PRR Eel River branches just outside of Auburn until the early 2000's. I want to say that the NYC between Auburn and Waterloo had been gone since the 50's or early 60's, so those lines had been gone for decades. Wasn't until they repaved/rebuilt that stretch in 2000/2001 did they remove the overpasses and smooth out the approaches.

Practice Safe CSX

I'm sure the US27 situation was to Cap Pinkerton's financial advantage

[atrainguy60]

The reason for the overpass in Novi was because of the traffic during rush hour which is twice as bad when you get something through there like a coal train. Ever been on that stretch during rush hour?

I'd hate to have been on that stretch of road when a train would go by during rush hour before the overpass was built.

[GTW6401]

CSX has built a lot of new overpasses in the Metro Detroit area over the last 10 or 15 years, mostly around Livonia and Westland. Sheldon Road in Plymouth is a lot like the Novi Road bridge, being that it was built after most of the train traffic in the area had gone down.

Farm Lane in East Lansing didnt have any underpasses for how long until they were built a few years ago too.

[PlymouthStationGuy]

Due to heavier traffic going to and coming from 12 Oaks Shopping Center area
and points north it just made sence to build a 4 lane bridge and it makes for better traffic flow. CSX had nothing to do with that bridge the money came from the stimulus that the state got for road improvment.

[Raildudes dad]

Due to heavier traffic going to and coming from 12 Oaks Shopping Center area
and points north it just made sence to build a 4 lane bridge and it makes for better traffic flow. CSX had nothing to do with that bridge the money came from the stimulus that the state got for road improvment.

No Stimulus money that I could find. MI TEDF funds (economic development funds)

CSX has built a lot of new overpasses in the Metro Detroit area over the last 10 or 15 years, mostly around Livonia and Westland. Sheldon Road in Plymouth is a lot like the Novi Road bridge, being that it was built after most of the train traffic in the area had gone down.

Farm Lane in East Lansing didnt have any underpasses for how long until they were built a few years ago too.

CSX isn't building these bridges, local agencies are with MDOT / federal funds.

[hoborich]

Sheldon Road in Plymouth is a lot like the Novi Road bridge, being that it was built after most of the train traffic in the area had gone down.

Just to be fair here, these things are planned years in advance.

[Ben Higdon]

I've seen a few examples of grade crossing related investment that is disconnected from the reality of the need. In Kalamazoo in the 90s there were two sets of the large cantilever crossing signals for protecting four lane roads. One on Pitcher St, for the siding into the downtown Upjohn powerhouse, which I'm pretty sure never got a carload after they went up, and on Stadium Dr for the WMU powerhouse, which also was never used again (except for some MOW at least once). Such a waste of money...if those spurs came back into service, they could have temporarily relied on a flag man and existing protection if it was that big of deal. They're all gone now, hopefully they got to reuse the signals somewhere else.

[Tom]

Lapeer put gates and lights at some crossings in the middle of nowhere (on CN) after a few high-profile fatal accidents, including paving a section of dirt road and leveling a hill. Some of those cost almost a million dollars per crossing.